Page 9 - JOA-3-21-RE

Written by Eliana Max Blum
Collecting from Music Industry Pros: Otto Zielke
Collecting from Music Industry Pros: Otto Zielke
Collecting from Music Industry Pros: Otto Zielke

t started with pennies,” said Otto landmark sign was being auctioned off. Zielke thought it was interesting
Zielke, thinking back about how he and compelling, but at the time he didn’t yet fully understand its signif-
Igot started with collecting coins. icance in the world of art and music. Beyond lack of context, the piece
Ever since he was a kid, he’s been was much too big to fit in his apartment, so he let it go. He hopes to have
chasing after collectibles, from PEZ another chance to buy it; he still thinks about it and wishes he could hang
dispensers to Hot Wheels, trading cards it out in front of his store.
and more. As an adult, he moved on to Broadly speaking, Zielke says that he doesn’t exactly have a favorite
art; more specifically, concert posters. piece. But perhaps his most prized piece of artwork is a signed copy of
Zielke remembers the very first time Andy Warhol’s After the Party. It’s simple, and yet somehow emblematic
he was drawn to concert posters. He was of how real art can be found anywhere. He does clearly have a favorite
at a show in the 80s. The Allman theme though, and that’s color. He’s always moved by bright, vivid pop
Brothers Band were playing. And as he art – especially work by Andy Warhol and yes, Keith Haring. But he feels
walked by the merchandise counter, a that a collector can only have so many pieces that look similar. It became
print caught his eye: “All of a sudden I important to Zielke to expand, and these days, his collection covers a lot
realized that music isn’t just for your more ground. He believes by diversifying the individual pieces, it allows
ears – it’s for your eyes, too.” He bought it as decoration, because at this his collection to shine more as a whole.
point in his life, he was in his early 20s, with the bare apartment walls of Collecting is a slow, deliberate, and ever-evolving process. But over the
a recent college graduate. Next came a red, white, and blue one. The years, Zielke has managed to amass
Allman Brothers, from their second annual pop festival in Atlanta. He more than two million pieces. “It’s
didn’t stop there – he kept on buying, and the collection kept growing. sort of embarrassing when I say it
When Zielke set out to acquire art, he started by going to galleries and out loud,” he says. He continues
talking to gallerists. He remembers pointing at a particular work and to buy, but these days he
asking a salesperson if they thought it would increase in value over time. mostly sells and trades. When
The response he received has been his guiding principle ever since: “You you develop an emotional
don’t buy art as an investment. You buy art because you like to look at connection to a collection,
it.” Even now, he doesn’t get distracted pieces that are pricey or simply though, letting go of pieces
popular. It doesn’t matter to him whether an artist is famous enough to is never easy – Zielke
be selling to museums or obscure enough to be hawking on street corners doesn’t feel like he can
– Zielke still only makes a purchase when he feels a personal connection. part with special pieces
He’s followed his gut instincts ever since, which may be why there are without taking time to
shockingly few pieces that he feels regret about missing out on – Zielke find the right person,
can only think of two. The first was a Keith Haring sketch at an auction: who will appreciate the
he bid on the piece and won, but when it arrived, it appeared to be fake. piece and cherish it. It’s more The Allman Brothers
The auction house reassured him it was real, but Zielke still decided to than a simple exchange; it means some- Band, “An Evening,”
send the drawing back. “Boy was that dumb of me,” he said. “I don’t even thing to him to be able to contribute 1992, selling at
want to know what it’s worth these days, but I guarantee it was a steal of to creating the next generation of VisibleVibrations.com
a deal back then.” collectors. He finds great joy in
With the second loss, he mainly chalks it up to poor timing. This time stewarding the works until
it was a giant marquee from The Fillmore East in the East Village neigh- they go on to build
borhood of New York City – the famous rock venue was closing and the another body of work.

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